Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab S12+ and Tab S12 Ultra went on sale on 7 October, and the cheaper model has been dropped from the range. In the UK the S12+ starts at £1,199 and the S12 Ultra at £1,399, which makes them two of the priciest Android tablets you can buy.
Prices and what’s on offer
Samsung’s UK newsroom gives the starting prices as £1,199 for the S12+ and £1,399 for the Ultra, which matches what SamMobile, Gagadget and GSMArena report for the 256GB Wi-Fi versions. A 1TB Ultra with 16GB of RAM and 5G costs £2,149, according to a Samsung UK listing quoted by search results. Gagadget notes that the basic Tab S12 is gone, so there is no cheaper entry point this year.
Samsung’s UK store is pushing offers. There is £100 off when paying with PayPal, trade-in credit of £20 to £730 on the Ultra with a selected device, a six-month free trial of Google AI Pro and 30% off accessories such as keyboard covers when bought with the tablet. Samsung’s page says the charger is not in the box.
Two sizes, one chip
| Tab S12+ | Tab S12 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Screen | 12.6in | 14.6in Dynamic AMOLED 2X |
| Chip | MediaTek Dimensity 9500 (3nm) | MediaTek Dimensity 9500 (3nm) |
| Battery | 10,600mAh | 11,600mAh |
| Thickness | 5.3mm | 5.1mm |
| Weight | 553g (Wi-Fi) | 692g |
| RAM / storage | 12GB; 256GB or 512GB | 12GB; 256GB or 512GB, or 16GB with 1TB |
| S Pen | Included | Included |
| Water and dust | IP68 | IP68 |
Both promise seven years of Android updates and run One UI 9 on Android 17, according to Samsung and GSMArena. For video, Samsung rates the Ultra at up to 23 hours and the S12+ at up to 21 hours.
What GSMArena’s tests found
GSMArena tested the Ultra and measured a peak of 1,514 nits on a 10% white patch and 1,031 nits in automatic mode, which it says matches Samsung’s claim. Its Active Use battery score was 13 hours 23 minutes, the same as the Tab S11 Ultra, which the reviewer calls class-leading. With Samsung’s 45W adapter, the battery went from 0% to full in 84 minutes, a little faster than the S11 Ultra’s 95 minutes.
Performance is up on last year. In Geekbench 6 the Ultra scored 3,133 single-core and 9,403 multi-core, against 2,741 and 8,861 for the S11 Ultra. Tablets with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip score higher, such as the RedMagic Astra 2 at 3,636 single-core. In prolonged stress tests, the tablet held 74% of its peak CPU performance and 69% of its peak GPU performance.
The reviewers also praise the four speakers, which they describe as boomy with strong bass but somewhat weak highs, and the DeX desktop mode, which they say “can make you forget about your laptop” when paired with Samsung’s optional Pro Keyboard. The Pro Keyboard is not Bluetooth and connects only through the tablet’s pogo pins.
The drawbacks are the camera notch, the lack of a charger in the box and a passive S Pen. The cameras are the same as on the S11 Ultra, and the 2x zoom is a crop that halves the detail.
Our view
GSMArena calls the starting price “quite a steep price for a laptop-like device”. It says the Ultra suits people who want one device for gaming, video editing, office multitasking, streaming and drawing, but not anyone who needs Windows or macOS apps. Our own advice is simple: if you do not need the 14.6-inch screen, check whether the S12+ at £1,199 does what you need. We have not tested either tablet ourselves.
Galaxy Tab and Galaxy AI are trademarks of Samsung Electronics. Ctrl + Alt News is independent and is not sponsored or endorsed by Samsung. Samsung’s images are used for editorial purposes.
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